Nigeria, the land of plenty

Dancing away at Iya Osun's birthday Green, yellow, beige were the official colours of Iya Osun’s birthday celebrations at the Oba’s palace. Green oval patterns, that reminded one of the skeleton of a sphere, were printed on the cloth that was used for dresses and the hair gear, the gele. As we entered the Oba’s compound, a hundred meters away from the junction of Osogbo’s central mosque, talking drums were happily providing a swinging call for dances and occasionally a welcome call to newcomers, that could involve the spelling out of the guests' names, in the hope that money would be sprayed on the drummers: blessings are always meant to be rewarded. The celebration took place in the lower courtyard of the palace, next to the red walls of a shrine decorated with white, black and orange designs. the colourful shrine at the palace of the Oba of Osogbo As usual, marquees had been erected, in a corner, for people to seat and have food and dri...

too many people can cause a boat to sink About half an hour drive away from Oyo town, there is a small settlement, called Ile-Oba Alaafin, that is dedicated to Oba the river Spirit. Nowadays, five families are living there. About a hundred people. The name of all inhabitants starts with Oba to mark their origin. The legend says that Oba and Osun were both married to Sango, the god of thunder and they had a dispute. Osun cut one ear to Oba in the process and Oba turned into a river, hence became the river Spirit. The village is set in a peaceful location away from the main road linking Oyo to Ogbomoso and Ilorin, a dreadful stretch full of lorries humming their way at variable speeds. Overtaking certainly kills on that road whose sides are littered with skeletons of burnt-down vehicles. The Champs Elysées of Ile Oba Alaafin It takes ten to fifteen minute over a sandy track, that traverses large fields punctuated by lonely trees, to reach the village by c...

market experience starts early The Yoruba city that became the city of Suzanne Wenger: Osogbo is about 200/250km north east from Lagos. It features an interesting mix of churches and mosques. The railway crosses the town. Osogbo central mosque The oldest part is hosting a market along several narrow streets, the remains of a palace, the grand mosque with a dome partly damaged as if a bomb had landed there. Grass grows on the edge of its roofs. It is built of stone the same way as the cathedral which looks much less impressive and all towards the sky.  the cathedral of all Saints A part of the market is dedicated to witchcraft. A lot of the houses could actually be very beautiful colonial buildings were they not in an advance stage of dilapidation. Their façade are reddish yellow as if the ground had slowly varnished them.  faded beauty